MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan

Baon Plan #2 + Things I Learned From Week 1

July 9, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 10 Comments

I’m back with another baon plan! *Happy dance*

I noticed though that I only have one post between last week’s lunchbox meal plan and this one. That seems to be a sure sign that I need to blog more often. How do I find the time to do that though? Well, Dainty Mom told me in this blog post that in order to find time to blog, you really need to make a deliberate decision to blog. As in you MAKE time for it. Yes, I firmly believe that she was speaking to me, please do not burst my bubble!

Today I am making time to blog about my second week in baon planning. For my friends abroad, baon, in Filipino, basically means something that you take with you. In this case, baon means packed lunch/snacks. Mmkay?

So, lessons learned first. Week two was not as tough as week one in the sense that it wasn’t that much of a struggle getting up at 5am anymore. But, like I often say, waking up and getting up is one thing. Functioning is another. To this, I am pleased to say that I have found an answer, and that is to have what I like to call a jump start routine. If this seems like common sense to you, well, to me it’s a whole new thing, and that’s why I seem overly excited over something that sounds so simple.

A jump start routine is basically something that you have to do everyday, as soon as you wake up. It’s such a regular and recurring thing that you don’t need to think about it much. To a certain degree it becomes a little bit mechanical. The logic behind this is that you actually start moving and getting things done while you are organizing your thoughts and figuring out what other things you need to do. That way, you don’t run around like a headless chicken, aimlessly going back and forth between the refrigerator and pantry collecting ingredients, with not much else getting done. Having a jump start routine buys me that extra time to think about my battle plan, so I make less trips back an forth from one area of the kitchen to another.

My jump start routine basically begins with sitting up right when my alarm goes off and NOT hitting the snooze button, no matter what. And then I follow these simple steps:

Wake up MrC and ask him to please get the coffee pot, rice cooker and frying pan which were left to dry overnight in our outside kitchen. Why do I need MrC to do that? Because honestly you can’t make me step out of the house before sunrise unless it’s to go straight into the car. That’s because we have a froggy friend who lives in one of the corners of our garden, and he likes to sing to me each morning. *Shudder*
While MrC is outside, take out all the pots and pans that I need for that morning.
Make coffee (unless MrC is in the mood to make it himself).
While the coffee is brewing, cook rice.

Once I turn the rice cooker on, I’m kind of already sure about what I need to get done and how I’m gonna do it. So yes, this whole jump start routine business really works.

Okay, moving on to the meal plan. On week two, I didn’t go to the supermarket until Thursday since we had so much food in the house. Oh, and I’ve decided to include breakfast in my menus since I do prepare it every day. Plus I think that anyone who can have breakfast on the table and a packed lunchbox ready by 6am is super, and deserves the recognition. Yes, I just complimented myself there.

Here’s what I managed to prepare on the last week of June using whatever we had in our fridge and pantry.

MONDAY
Breakfast: Pancakes
Recess: PB&J pancake (we had one left over from breakfast) and apple slices
Lunch: Steak with cheese sauce (prepared by Lola, left over from dinner the night before) and boiled corn kernels

TUESDAY
Breakfast: German franks and toast
Recess: Sandwich crackers and apple slices
Lunch: Chicken Drumettes (the Purefoods kind) with gravy

Wednesday's Breakfast — Wednesday’s Breakfast

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: Grilled cheese pandesal
Recess: Two kinds of cereal (Little MrC loves munching on cereal)
Lunch: Breaded pork loin (1/3 of the pork I bought at the supermarket last week) and boiled carrots

Wednesday's Snack Attack — Wednesday’s Snack Attack

THURSDAY
Breakfast: Red Ribbon Mamon
Recess: Crumpy sandwich
Lunch: Pork tapa (the last of the pork from last week, click here for the recipe) and scrambled egg

FRIDAY
Breakfast: Cereal and milk
Recess: PB&J Pandesal
Lunch: Rosemary chicken (which I marinated overnight) and potato wedges

I should really remember to take photos before I pack everything into the lunch bag, but sometimes you just forget. Oh well. There you have it, I’ll be back with another baon plan next week!

I Need A Driver

July 5, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 22 Comments

Yesterday was one of those days when I just really wished I had a driver. Luckily, I have MrC who agrees to drive me around whenever I make my kawawa (sad-looking) face. Here’s the gist. Yesterday was coding day, and I had back to back meetings in BGC. I also had to bring the little guy to school and pick him up after school. I was supposed to cab it to BGC because MrC also had a scheduled meeting in Merville yesterday morning. Luckily he ended up not having to go to the meeting, and so I pulled my kawawa face and asked him to drive me instead.

I could actually have driven myself, but after having gotten up at 5am to prepare the kiddie’s baon, then sneaking in as much work as I could in between dropping him off at school and preparing to leave for my meeting, I was kind of zombified already, and in no condition to drive. Plus parking can be such a headache in BGC on weekdays, and I really did not want to subject myself to that. So, long story short, he said yes to being my driver sweet lover for the day.

First stop was the kid’s school at 7:20 am. The school is literally 5 minutes away, but because of traffic it usually takes us 20-30 minutes to drop him off and get back home.

Second stop, the ATM machine. Had to withdraw cab money.

Third stop, Shell station to get gas. Yay for not having to take a cab anymore!

Fourth stop, Kuppa for my back to back meetings.

Fifth stop (for MrC), SM Aura for solo time, lunch and muni muni.

Sixth stop, Kuppa again, to pick me up. I was just about to finish my meeting when he arrived, then I had to wait in line for the restroom for over 5 minutes. I really needed to pee so I didn’t want to leave without relieving myself. And so he patiently waited maybe 10-15 minutes for me, in the car outside Kuppa.

Seventh stop, South Supermarket Alabang to buy an afternoon snack for the kiddo. We reached Alabang just as the coding window ended.

Eighth stop, home to sneak in a little bit more work before it was time to get the little boy.

Ninth stop, school for pickup. Again it took much longer than it should have to get the kid and come back home.

Imagine if I had to do all that on my own! It’s a good thing MrC was around. But what if he was busy that day? To tell you honestly though, I’m starting to feel bad that he has to hang around and wait for me every time I ask him to take me to a meeting or a workshop or event. Of course he says it’s ok, but I know he also has his own set of things to do. Plus, I feel bad about subjecting him so often to the stress of traffic, getting lost, looking for new and unfamiliar places, and horrible parking conditions.

I already know that I will have many more days like yesterday, and some may even be worse. Next time, I think I will dial a driver. Yes, there is actually a company that offers drivers for hire on a daily basis. It’s called Dial A Driver, and it’s owned by my good friends, Jal and Tracey, and they actually reminded me that I can give them a call anytime to book someone to drive me around when manic days like yesterday strike. I love that I have them as my safety net when I have to go someplace unfamiliar or visit several areas in one day.

I know most of you moms go through similar days too, and wouldn’t you just love to have a driver in times like these? Imagine not having to worry about traffic and parking! You can even tweet or sleep while in transit. How easy would your day be if you had a driver at your disposal? Where would you go? And how would you spend your time as a passenger? I’d love to hear what you mommies have to say! Who knows, the lovely people of Dial A Driver might just hear your pleas and send you a driver for a day. Now, wouldn’t that be fab?

MrsC’s Tried and Tested Baon Plan #1

July 2, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 19 Comments

I wake up at 5am on weekday mornings and immediately head to the kitchen. I prepare breakfast for our family, and pack recess and lunch for my son. It’s a bit of a challenge figuring out what to make every day, especially where the packed meals or baon is concerned. Thing is, I really cannot falter because Little MrC’s grade level does not have access to the school canteen yet, and so he is stuck eating whatever he has in his lunchbox. So, I took this challenge head on from the moment school started, and I am now on my third week and doing okay so far.

I figured that I must not be the only mommy with meal planning woes. I’m also pretty sure that there are many early morning iron chef mamas out there who, like me, are in charge of making sure that their kids have a proper meal to eat in school each day. And so I’ve decided to share my weekly lunchbox meal plans, and also impart some kitchen wisdom in what worked, what didn’t and why. Sounds like a plan? Yes, a meal plan! Sorry, I know I’m too corny to function. Forgive me, I’ve been up since (you guessed it!) 5am.

Before you leave this page out of boredom from my corny jokes, I bring you MrsC’s Tried and Tested Baon Plan #1. This is what I packed for my son on the first week of school, which happened to fall on the third week of June.

MONDAY
Recess: Vjandep Pastel – First discovered in Cagayan de Oro, this time bought from Market Market.
Lunch: Purefoods Chicken Nuggets, boiled carrots and rice – Always a fave among the kiddies. Plus boiled carrots for added vitamins.

TUESDAY
Recess: PB&J Sandwich
Lunch: Breaded pork, corn & carrots, and rice – I used lomo (tenderloin) so it’s super soft.

WEDNESDAY
Recess: Strawberry Pop Tarts – Since we have a whole box from our Duty Free shopping spree.
Lunch: Pork adobo, banana and rice – My mom’s epic recipe. Best eaten with a ripe banana.

THURSDAY
Recess: Grilled Cheese Pandesal – Prepared in our trusty Big Boss Grill.
Lunch: Daing na bangus, chopsuey and rice – I buy the Century marinated and frozen bangus (milk fish). It’s pretty good and it’s boneless too.

FRIDAY
Recess: Voice Overload cracker sandwich and apple slices
Lunch: Tocino, scrambled egg and rice – I tried the CDO young pork tocino for the first time. It’s good for baon because it’s really soft.

So there you go! Hope you guys are able to get some ideas from this meal plan. Let me know if it helped you somehow. I’d love if you could share your meal plans and recipe ideas too. And please, come back next week, there’s more to look forward to then!

Fabulous Freezer Meals

June 28, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 13 Comments

I try to stay away from Pinterest as much as I can. That’s because whenever I’m on I tend to lose huge chunks of my day that could have otherwise been used for more productive things, like work and sleep. When I once in a while allow myself to indulge in an hour or two (or three) of mind-numbing pinning, I usually look for crochet-related pins, recipes, and travel ideas. Now that I think about it, I’ve never actually tried anything I’ve pinned except for a Martha Stewart Tres Leches Cake recipe. And the freezer meals came into my life.

Tres Leches Cake. If you like to bake, you should try making this!

Lately I’ve been obsessed with finding recipes that I can prepare for my son’s daily packed lunch for school. It was while searching for make ahead meals that I stumbled upon this treasure trove of prepare and freeze meals! I re-pinned my favorites, and this week I started on my fabulous freezer meal journey.

Sitting in my freezer right now are these three bags of yumminess. The first is a Rosemary Chicken recipe I found while re-reading my 2012 June Yummy Magazine. I whipped up a whole batch, then froze half and left half to continue marinading overnight in the fridge. This is what I cooked today for my kiddo’s lunch, and it smelled and tasted really good. I made very slight changes to the original recipe, and you guys will learn all about it when I launch my brand-spanking new blog feature very, very soon. Exciting!

I also tried out a Pork Adobo recipe that I found in a Filipino food blog called KainPinoy. I’m a bit intimidated by adobo because my mom’s is really unbelievable. It’s so good that some of our friends have started calling it Epic Adobo. But anyway, I decided to give it a shot, and I’m scheduled to cook this on Monday morning.

The last freezer bag holds a family Beef Tapa recipe that I am making for the first time ever. I really hope it comes out good. Pressure!!!

My freezer food research has taught me that the best and most space-saving way to keep all these make ahead meals is to place them in zip top bags, squeeze out all the air, lay the meat flat so that the marinade is evenly distributed, and freeze it this way, stacked one on top of the other on a baking sheet or tray. Once everything is frozen, you can then place them in your freezer like books on a shelf. It’s all amazingly compact and organized! Don’t forget to label your bags with the food name and the date that you froze them. Oh, and make your life easier by writing on the bags before you put stuff in them. 😉

I’ll be sharing more freezer meals with you from here on out. And that’s only one part of the fun new things that are coming to this blog, so I really do hope that you guys stick around!

What are your favorite prepare and freeze recipes? I’d love for you to share them with me so I can try to make them too!

Minion Overload!

June 27, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 1 Comment

I can’t get enough of the Despicable Me minions! I have found them super adorable since the very first time I saw the movie. I remember squealing with happiness when I saw the minions at the cinema lobby of Alabang Town Center right as we exited the theater after seeing the movie. And of course I had to take a photo!

Minions-1 — Say hello to my yellow friends!

When we found out that the McDonalds Happy Meal toys were minions, we got excited to get some right away. But we were only able to finally order our McDo meals for dinner tonight, and I’m sad to report that the branch that caters to us is all out of good minions. But it’s okay, I guess, coz these periwinkle evil ones are kinda cute. Plus, MrC got the kiddo and I a minion each from Rustan’s last weekend.

IMG_20130627_184829 — Instagrammed: Our Evil Happy Meal Minions

IMG_20130623_141738 — Instagrammed: Our Rustan’s Mini Minions

MrC and I are actually thinking about checking out a different McDonalds branch tomorrow morning to see if they have good minions in stock. Never mind the calories! I would honestly collect them all if I could. Can’t wait for the movie to come out.

These little guys are my simple joys for the week. What are yours? 🙂

My Favorite Crispy Corned Beef Recipe, As Told On Instagram

June 25, 2013 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 8 Comments

There are perks to following me on Instagram, like those mornings when I decide to share step-by-step instructions for preparing my favorite meals as I cook. I actually did that for the first time a few weeks ago, and I had a lot of fun with it. I prepared crispy corned beef for brunch that day, and I thought I’d share the recipe here too, in case you and I aren’t friends on Instagram yet. But yeah, we should be friends!

IMG_20130525_095408 — Step1: Straight from the can, no oil, simmer over low heat until all the liquid evaporates.

IMG_20130525_100328 — Step2: stir-fry until super dry and flakey. Move the corned beef around a lot or else it will burn. Remember, low heat.

IMG_20130525_102131 — You know you’re almost done when it starts to get stringy and flakey. It starts to smell toasty too.

IMG_20130525_103208 — Be careful towards the end coz there is but a fine line between toasted and burnt. Aaaand the crispy corned beef is done!

IMG_20130525_101226 — Crispy corned beef is best paired with garlic rice and pork and beans!

Yes, I know, this looks really unhealthy. And it is. But hey, it’s really great comfort food. Try it, and I swear you’ll understand what I’m talking about!